The Nature of Fragile Things

By: Susan Meissner

Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins, Jason Culp

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin's odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.

From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.

Praise for The Nature of Fragile Things

“A mysterious web of lies, love, and loss that accelerates toward the inevitable: the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906." (Kristin Harmel, author of The Book of Lost Names)

“A riveting tale set in 1906 San Francisco. These fascinating characters' hidden pasts and dark secrets collide, entwine, and explode - and that's before the earthquake hits." (Greer Macallister, author of The Magician's Lie and The Arctic Fury)

“In the ashes of San Francisco's greatest tragedy, one remarkable woman finds love, friendship, and the means to rebuild. Historical fiction that reads with the urgency and suspense of a thriller.” (Lauren Willig, New York Times best-selling author of The Summer Country)

“Driven by the unstoppable force of the three intriguing women at its heart, this is a novel to savor, and one to share with all the women in your life whom you admire." (Hazel Gaynor, New York Times best-selling author of When We Were Young & Brave)

©2021 Susan Meissner (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Meissner spins an exceptional story.... Unexpected and masterfully crafted twists and turns abound.... Ingeniously plotted and perfectly structured, this captivates from beginning to end.” (Publisher's Weekly, starred review)

“A terrific tale that takes us on a harrowing cable-car ride through early 20th-century San Francisco, where dark secrets - like the city itself - crack wide open, forcing our world-weary heroine to confront the devastation done by the lies she's been told and by the lies she's still telling.” (Stephanie Dray, author of America’s First Daughter and The Women of Chateau Lafayette)

“A brilliant story of resilience and the power of female friendship." (Marie Benedict, New York Times best-selling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie)

Very Captivating story

I really enjoyed the story and it’s delivery. Kept me on the edge of my seat a few times :)

VERY well written novel!

I really enjoyed the Irish accent of the narrator. the book itself was great. the main character was so empathetic and complex. I believe she may be one of my favorite all-time fictional characters. I finished this audiobook in 4 days. I could not put it down.

Great book!

Great story and narrator! I highly recommend this book. I didn't want to put it down!

Hooked me

Wanted to find out the truth! Well told story with fascinating characters. Descriptions evoked the setting of the earthquake in San Francisco. At times the Irish accent of the narrator was a bit difficult to understand.

Really enjoyed this book!

Fascinating story built around the San Francisco earthquake, and the unusual but common practice of a mail order bride. The ending seemed a bit unrealistic to me but it didn't change my enjoyment of this well written story. I've read several of Susan Meissner's books and always found them excellent.

A very entertaining story

Thoroughly enjoyed this story. Wonderful weaving of fact and fiction. Nice building of tension. Lots of surprises and thankfully, not political!

Loved the story but....

I enjoyed this book in Audible. The narrator had a pleasant sounding voice but she often dropped the volume of her voice toward the end of her sentences. This required me to keep the phone volume higher than I would have liked so that I didn’t miss anything.

Narrator was irritating

A very well crafted mystery. Unfortunately, the narrator's Irish accent was overdone. I had to translate every word that included the letter "O" as in "He went dine" means "He went down." She also often repeated the same inflection for several sentences in a row. This was irritating. I doubt I will download any future books narrated by her.

Wonderful

When you hate coming to the end of the book you know you've just finished something lovely. This book is lovely. I would like to read or listen to a book 2. Narrator was great

Excellent Narrator

Finally, a narrator that fit the characters and made the story believable. So many good books are ruined by the reader(s)